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Topic: Tweeting during childbirth? Why not? (Read 1232 times)

I’ve been criticised for sharing too much and I’ve been criticised for not sharing enough.

There are some who think it’s their right to know everything about me because I have my photo on a website, but trust me… no matter how much you read about me – you don’t know the whole story.

There are some who crucify me when I do choose to divulge a portion of my private life because it panders to the voyeuristic nature of our popular culture.

Exploiting one's personal life for economic gain (honestly it's not THAT economic), is frowned upon and while I appreciate there are those who DO utilise this devil’s creation - otherwise known as social media - for monetary gain, personally this is not my intention.

Nor do I believe it was the intention of Mary Wycherly when she tweeted about her birthing experience for all the world to read.

Too much information? Over share? Social media gone too far?

No, no, and none of the above.

If you don’t want to read about Mary’s beautiful birthing experience – then don’t.

Nor is it anyone’s place to judge Mary for having the tenacity or the multi-tasking ability to tweet and labour at the same time.

However, I appreciate there are some that might ask why. What might Mary gain from sharing such personal detail with the rest of the world?

I see tweeting much like having a conversation, just with a much larger audience and with the potential to generate a much greater response.

For those of you who are still stuck in the 18th century and are too busy doing up your chastity belts or raping the villagers to appreciate the freedoms social media has afforded us – let me fill you in.

Our world has become a global village. We may not be close in proximity, but we are only a click away from knowing anyone, anywhere, at any time.

Fighting this reality is futile. Mary and others like her have chosen to put their lives online and I applaud their bravery. There are many who are too fragile, too self-conscious, or lack the transparency to put themselves out there.

It’s easy to judge those of us who do express ourselves in a public forum behind the safety of anonymity.

When I first revealed the truth about my family breakdown, I mentioned there might come a day that I would regret making such private information available for public consumption.

And in all honesty, there have been times when I've reflected on the monster I created and wished perhaps I didn’t. However, when looking at the big picture I think it’s more about wishing I didn’t have such a sordid story to tell, rather than the telling of it.

I’ve always been transparent… nothing much in my closet that’s worth hiding. No skeletal remains I’m ashamed of. Therefore, I figure, if I’ve been through it, others have too and maybe we can all learn from each other.

And much like Mary, and her new little bundle Sailor, I’m sure there are many new mums and dads who take something away from her intimate revelations.

For a writer there is something therapeutic about putting an event into a written perspective.